The third annual 9/11 Memorial Tower Climb will take place at City Center Fort Worth on September 14. The event will commemorate the lives lost on September 11, 2001, as hundreds of rescue workers climb the Bank of America Tower at 301 Commerce Street.
First responders from across Texas can register in advance at citycenterfw.com/memorial-tower-climb. The $50 registration fee will be donated to the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation and the Brotherhood of the Fallen.
Participants from City Center Security, local police and fire departments will climb the tower’s 36 floors three times, recreating the 110 floors of the World Trade Center. Each climber will wear a lanyard with the photo and name of a first responder who died in the line of duty on September 11, 2001.
This year, the event has been expanded to include a larger community component. The Fort Worth Police Department will bring the dogs from their Critical Incident Team. The dogs will be available for participants and supporters to interact and have fun with, and provide a source of comfort and companionship throughout the event.
The Fort Worth Fire Department will have a fire house on site where families can gain experience and even attempt to get out of a room with “smoke.” In addition, the Fort Worth Fire Department will have an ambulance on site that families can explore inside and ask questions of the paramedics.
Also new this year, City Center will exhibit a 20×20 American flag quilt made from individual photos of those who perished on September 11. The quilt will be on display in the lobby of the Bank of America Tower from September 9-28 and will be open to the public for viewing.
Check-in begins at 7 a.m. on September 14, the event begins at 8:25 a.m., followed by a moment of silence at 8:46 a.m. to commemorate the moment American Airlines Flight 11 struck the North Tower of the World Trade Center. The climb begins at 8:47 a.m.
The most important moments include:
09:03 Minute of silence – everyone pauses
South tower hit by United Airlines Flight 175
09:37 Minute of silence – everyone pauses
Pentagon hit by American Airlines Flight 77
9:59 a.m. Minute of silence – everyone pauses
The south tower collapses
10:03 Minute of silence – everyone pauses
United Airlines Flight 93 crashes in Shanksville, PA
10:28 a.m. Minute of silence – everyone pauses
Collapse of the North Tower
12:00 p.m.: The first responders are ready and the event ends.
Of the 2,977 victims of the 2001 attacks, 415 were first responders, including 343 firefighters, 37 Port Authority and New Jersey police officers, 23 New York City police officers, eight private paramedics and emergency medical technicians, three New York State court officers, one New York City Fire Department officer, and one FBI special agent.
Over the course of three hours in 2001, 121 fire engine and 62 ladder companies, as well as 27 firefighters, were dispatched to the scene. All firefighters who were not on duty were recalled – the first time in over 30 years that the New York City Fire Department conducted a complete recall.
More information, including a link to register, can be found here.
